Not One, But Seven
by Insert a Catchy Penname Here
Summary: Chara was the first human child, not the last. He'd watched not one die, but seven.
1. Prologue

Not One, But Seven

Determination was an entity that almost all humans possessed from the day they were born. Monsters, however, had to gain it through certain actions or they simply would not have it. This could be viewed as a positive thing; most monsters were afraid of this powerful force they couldn't understand. It took someone who possessed a virtually empty soul to gain determination, someone who'd either lost everything or never cared what they'd had.

Monsters never would have suspected him. He was so kind, so gentle with everyone. People called him a pushover and spoke fondly of him regardless of his lack of being able to name. But Asgore knew he'd gained some determination, some LV, some EP, _something_ that wasn't as kind or cuddly. He lost two children due to his original disposition, so he killed his old self.

Chara was the first human child, not the last. He'd let not just one human child die, but seven.


	2. His Promises

**Author Note: Hello, friends. It is I, from the future! (From 12/6/16. anyway.) I wanted to alert any previous readers that I rewrote some of this so that Gaster is the royal scientist for a decent portion of this story, as it was pointed it to me that Alphys was very likely not even alive when at least half of the children fell.**

Not One, But Seven: His Promises

It was his son that found Chara first. Asriel had been going on another walk around the Underground to talk to everyone; he was always such a sweet, compassionate child. He couldn't have ever made an enemy with anyone, so he and Toriel didn't worry for his safety. If nothing else good would come of being trapped in the Underground, they were undoubtedly safe there.

To say the least, they were shocked when he came in with a limping human in tow.

"I found them in a pile of flowers, Mom!" Asriel was practically shaking with excitement, his eyes aglow with passion. "I think they fell down here from the human world!"

"My child, did you not ask?" Toriel was staring at them with a trace of fear and a lot of maternal love; he knew at once that species truly didn't matter to his maternal, loving wife, and that she was going to help this child no matter what. "Do you know their name?"

"Th-they don't talk much," he replied softly. "I think it's because they're afraid."

At once the child's head shot up from where it'd been bent down before. Their eyes were a dark red, a color that he'd never seen before in irises, but they were full of strong sense of strength. The child didn't look frightened at all; they were almost intimidating the way they looked at them.

"I-I'm not afraid." Their voice was congested and her tone was hard, but Toriel didn't shrink away like he and Asriel did.

"We believe you, little human," she said softly. "My name is Toriel. This is my son, Asriel, and my husband, Asgore. What is your name?"

They hesitated before answering. "Chara."

"It's very nice to meet you," his wife replied kindly. "You look quite beat up from your fall down, Chara. How badly are you hurt?"

Another hesitation. "I…I think I might have twisted my ankle. It hurts to put any pressure on it, and then I'm pretty bruised and scraped up. I've had worse-"

"Do not fret, we will fix you right up." Tori smiled patiently. "Asriel, please go fetch my injury kit. Asgore, why don't you fix up a place for Chara to rest?"

"I-I don't need to stay here." Despite their injuries, the human youth was obviously in no mood to sit and have a cup of tea. "I need…I need to go back up."

His love smiled sadly, her eyes full of the same compassion he always saw when she looked at their boy. "Little human, there is no escaping the Underground. Monsters have been trapped down here for many years now; the barrier is not penetrable. I'm very sorry, but you cannot go back."

The child's strange eyes were wide now and full of shock and fear as they looked behind themselves frantically. "B-but…If I could fall down here, then…Then I have to be able to go back up! I…I'll just have to climb-"

"I've tried that," Asriel replied softly from behind his father. "There's no way. The dirt is too hard to make any foot holes and it's too smooth to inch up."

"I assure you, little human, that you are safe here nevertheless." Now he knelt down to their level, carefully taking their chin in his furry hand to ensure they'd meet his gaze. "I'm sure you have many questions, and I know you are certainly leaving something or someone behind upon falling down here. Did you have a family?"

"…Yes."

"Then we will serve as your new family," he replied gently. "I promise you that as long as you are down here, my wife and I will take care of you. We'll raise you with our son, Asriel. We'll teach the monsters of you, and they will certainly accept you. It will be very good for them to see a friendly human after the war, and I'm sure you'll grow to accept them as well. You can learn to be happy here, Chara. I'm certain of it."

Their eyes were pooled with tears by the time he finished speaking, but they had a small ghost of a smile hesitating on their lips. "You…You don't have to do all of that. I can find my own way. I always have."

"You don't have too anymore, little human," Toriel assured softly as Asriel handed over the first aid kit.

"Yeah! We'll be like a family!" Asriel hurried over to Chara and hugged them at once.

"Y-yeah." They slowly sat on the ground with Asriel and rested a hand on his back, their eyes never leaving Asgore's. "Like…Like a family."

* * *

He should have gone across the barrier himself. He felt too afraid, however, too heartbroken. He opted to stay with his wife and grieve over their lost child, the little one who'd been sick for so long and they could have never known wouldn't heal. Chara had always been a quiet, compliant young child that wouldn't complain of anything even if they were forced. None of them understood just how bad their illness was until they struggled just to breathe days before their passing.

Asriel's heart was far stronger than his own. He took his friend, practically his sibling, through the barrier with their soul so he could grant their final request. They wished to lay in the flowers in the village they'd come from, and to not grant such a simple little request would almost be dishonoring their memory.

Through all of the sympathetic visitors and tears of their own, both of them lost track of the time. It wasn't until their other child came back in covered in so much of his blood that they snapped back to reality and realized how long he'd been gone.

"Mom…Dad…" He gasped softly as he collapsed right into Toriel's arms, his small body shaking uncontrollably. "They…They thought it was my fault. They said…They said I ki-killed...Ch-Chara..."

"Asriel…Asriel…!" Toriel let out an anguished cry and gripped his tiny hands in her violently trembling own. "Yo-you're going to be alright, m-m-my child…You…You…"

"Mom." He slowly squeezed her hand and looked at the both of them with a tiny smile on his youthful face. "We…We know that's not the case."

"Have the humans truly gotten that powerful?" He attempted to swallow the lump clogging his throat and choked on his broken heart instead. "That you could not something…To reason with them, or fight them?"

"I just…Couldn't bring myself to hurt them. They were just looking out for their kind, Dad," his only born son whispered. "Just like…Just like we look after ours."

"Asriel, my child, I cannot bear to see you go tonight as well," his wife whispered and cradled his face. "I cannot allow it!"

"I-I'll try not to, Mom. I'll…I'll stay here and take care of you and Dad. I promised Chara I would…" His eyes were very far away, but he wasn't quite gone yet and that filled his father with a jagged sense of bitter pride. "Just…Don't leave me, either."

"We'll be right here, my child," she managed through her thick tears. "We will not leave your side."

Slowly he took his baby's other hand and settled beside him, his own tears soaking silently into his fur. He'd lost both children that night, all because he'd been foolish enough to let Asriel go alone. He was a coward and now he was paying the ultimate price. He was paying it twice, once for each of his children, once for each time he'd been foolish and weak.

"I-I'm sorry, my son," he whispered almost inaudibly. "I will…I will learn to do better. For you…For you and Chara, I promise that."

* * *

There was something inside of Chara that made them keep going, he'd decided as he sat alone in his throne room. The war had been declared and Toriel was avoiding him, locked alone in her room with her grief. He couldn't quite pin what it was, but _something_ led them to live a completely different life when they were the only human in a place beneath their old family, friends, and species.

He had find what is was. He had to find it and integrate it into his very being so that it was what defined his every thought and action. It was the only way he could keep every other monster safe, and the only way he could save him and his wife from their pain.

His scientist had been experimenting with a new power he'd researched in the human species. He'd decided to call it 'determination'; it was the ability to persist despite the worst of circumstances, even death, at least the way he described it. It was a power and blessing, one that humans possessed naturally and monsters longed for.

Determination. Yes, that was exactly what he needed.

He would not ask Gaster for a dosage until her experiments were complete, but he would somehow find it in himself in the meantime. Determination was what could get him through his grief and could be how he was going to bring himself to kill any human that made it to the Underground. He would become a monster that naturally possessed this new power; he owed his broken little family that much.

He supposed that in a way, determination was exactly he was going to keep his promises.


	3. Her Patience

Not One, But Seven: Her Patience

He wasn't sure how long it'd been since the end of his children's lives, but surely it had been years. He and Toriel spoke sporadically, but there was no real bad blood between the two of them. She wandered the Underground with a vacant look in her eyes; she loved talking to the locals, especially the children, but he couldn't handle seeing anyone out of his own free will. Of course he loved his people and offered as much as he could when they came before him, but his social inclination simply was no longer there. Toriel worried for him, but she didn't seem to truly mind either way what he did. The death of their children and his subsequent declaration of war had certainly changed them, and he often wondered if she missed him like she did their babies.

Gaster was grim when he told him the news. There was another human that had fallen Underground, a child at that. This motivated him to finally leave his home and journey to his lab to watch this new child wake. This child was a young girl with a ribbon tied in her dark hair, and according to Gaster she'd been unconscious for several hours. He wasn't even sure if she was still alive, but the king could see the way her shoulders occasionally twitched. Surely she was alive, and eventually she would wake and he could go about killing her.

When she did wake, however, he felt a familiar burn in his heart. Her eyes are weren't red and she looked considerably younger than his adoptive child, but she was a human just as much as Chara was. She looked absolutely terrified as well, frantically looking around and huddling her knees to her chest.

"My, she is a tiny creature," Gaster mused, his holed hands moving in thoughtful motions. "How will you go about killing her?"

"I do not know," he replied gravely. "Let us observe her for now. She fell into the Ruins, and as far as we know, it's a place full of infection and dangerous obstacles. Perhaps...Perhaps we will not have to..."

The words fell away from his mouth as the child stood up, her blue eyes full of tears. She was gripping something her right hand, a small toy knife that trembled with her petite body. Slowly she stepped forward, carefully stepping over the bed of flowers she'd fallen into and proceeding into the darkness.

"I only have a limited amount of cameras in the Ruins, Your Majesty," his scientist reminded. "Most monsters don't inhabit that area for the reasons you previously named off, so I haven't felt the need to monitor it."

"Do not worry about it. We will watch her where we can and proceed inside if we don't detect activity for long periods of time."

He merely nodded in agreement and handed him a monitor so that he could watch as well at his discretion. As he made his way back to his home, he wondered how Toriel would react. She cared so deeply about every living creature, especially children, and might even want to help the child. It was just her maternal instincts, but if he was going to gather souls to cross the barrier, there was no way he could allow her to intervene. He would simply have to keep this child a secret, at least while she was alive.

* * *

The day the earthquake rattled the Underground was the day he knew it was over for the child. Buildings crumpled, several monsters 'fell down', and dust clogged the air so heavily it was hard to breathe and see. As soon as the cleanup was well underway, he checked the cameras frantically until he finally found her.

She was stuck in a grooved area, one shaped like a 'T'. She was looking at a pile of rocks that'd fallen from the ceiling, their shadow almost completely engulfing her from view. The way he saw it, there was no way out from this prison.

The human, whose name he'd yet to learn, didn't seem to be bothered. Her immense fear had dissolved in the two weeks she'd been Underground, and until this point she was almost always moving. She was always careful to explore everywhere she went, which would explain why she was trapped in such an obscene place, but her sense of patience was something he admired. He was less than tolerant of the time she was taking- her pending death weighed his mind down constantly now- but she was still fascinating.

He was positive it was over now nevertheless. She could not and would not escape this area, at least not before she starved to death. The thought of such a young human suffering so much before their death filled him with a deep sadness, one that was almost strong enough to break the determination to let her die.

The last thing he saw of her before he shut off his monitor was her grabbing a rock from the immense pile and pulling it out of her path.

* * *

He wondered how such a small child could be so patient every second she was trapped. When he ventured into the Ruins with a couple of Royal Guardsmen sworn to secrecy, they'd found her crushed under the weight of her task removing the boulders. She laid half-out of the room, the rocks that crushed her unmoved despite the small golden flower laid beside her.

The guardsmen moved her quickly and he opted to carry her. After all, her death was undeniably his fault; not even Gaster could be blamed for his ruling. As they walked back toward the laboratory to retrieve her SOUL, he pondered on how he would present her to his people. He believed she deserved to be cleaned up a bit, maybe even given a better name than 'The Second Human'.

As her SOUL was extracted and it glowed a calm light blue, he was reminded of her patience. He was also reminded of the tracking he'd been keeping of her time Underground, the marks on the piece of paper representing the days. These markings were known as tally marks, which representing a period of waiting no matter how long the period may turn out to be.

Tally. Yes, that would be a fine name for this child.


	4. His Bravery

**Author Note: I'm so sorry it look so very long to update! My life has gotten very hectic, and I regret to inform you that this won't be changing in the near future. Nevertheless, I will do my best to provide consistent updates. :) I hope you enjoy!**

Not One, But Seven: Bravery 

He should have planned how she'd react. He knew she wouldn't be happy, and may even be angry with him. He could have never anticipated how furious she was, how much she cried as she sat many nights with Tally's body. She ordered a proper funeral casket be built, one with her SOUL's color imprinted on the front along with the name he'd told her.

When she finally re-emerged, she went straight to her room. Later that same night, she announced her departure and vanished from his life.

He didn't even hear from her when a human child entered the town of Snowdin. If he'd fallen just as Chara and Tally had, he likely would have encountered his wife. He could have thought of no reason she'd let him continue further into the Underground with her knowing his true intentions, unless he hadn't run into her or she was dead. The thought chilled him to his bones and made him feel sick, but he wouldn't go to find out. It was very clear she hated him, so the only thing to do was to focus on ending the new human at hand.

This human looked a bit more intimidating than Tally or Chara. His hair was blonde and fell down as shoulders; a very masculine bandana held it out of his face. He walked with a broad stance with his shoulders squared and his chin held high, and the hand with a glove on it stayed balled in a fist.

Since he had to cross a bridge before entering Snowdin, Asgore had been given a brief time to make an announcement to the local shopkeepers. By the time the boy made it to town, everyone was locked away safely in their stores and off the streets. The boy didn't miss a beat, simply walking further in with no indication of fear on his face.

The night fell soon, forcing the child to stop; it was then the king was able to see the humane worry in the boy. He walked to every building and banged on the door, jiggling the knob frantically and calling out repeatedly for help. His subjects were very loyal to their king, however, and nobody came to assist the child. Everyone knew that a night out in the frozen conditions of Snowdin would dramatically effect his health and possibly kill him, but he'd been very clear in his orders. He told them this child had likely killed their queen and that was to be avoided and feared no matter the circumstances.

Eventually the child curled up in front of the transporting igloos, his entire body shaking as he closed his eyes. Asgore shut off his camera and shut his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh. Deepening the divide with the humans was dangerous, but he'd killed Tally just as much as he was killing this boy. He knew he could do it, and the thought of simply doing it again filled him with a terrible sense of determination.

...

The boy was alive the next morning. He had an abundance of blankets wrapped around him, and when he stood up, about seven heated packs fell to the ground.

There was no way for anyone to predict who'd made sure the child survived. The king merely sighed and leaned back in his throne; some people were capable of less than himself.

The boy moved forward at once, knocking on the doors and calling for anyone. All of his sense of urgency was gone in the light of day; he seemed more curious than anything else. He was obviously very brave, so much so the king decided he was far bolder than himself. As he watched the youth wander Snowdin and cross the bridge away from it, he could not help but long to be more like this human. After all, if he was as bold as this child, he might not have lost his children. Perhaps they'd be alive and the other humans who fell down would prove to be kind allies.

The youth returned to Snowdin before night fell. Everyone was still locked up, but he rewrapped himself in the pile of blankets and bunched up as tightly as he could. He hadn't cried at all since he fell, but the emptiness in his eyes was obvious even from the king's limited view. He's too once had a family, people who cared about him. Now he was as alone as Asgore, and in the lack of terror he found loneliness.

Asgore concluded that he was much more alike to this boy than he wished as he settled back to watch him through the night. The biggest difference was that he knew he'd have to arrest the catalyst for the child's life, which was a coward's move. Then again, he supposed, everyone had their method of surviving when they were truly alone.

...

She was a lovely shopkeeper who he often bought from. He didn't want to outright arrest her; protecting humans was no violation of law, and as it turns out, she wasn't the one protecting the child. It was her daughter, a small, purple-furred child was shrunk away from him when she saw him. His task became much heavier the second he saw the fear across her face and the stubborn gleam in her eyes once her mother explained why the king was visiting their shop so early in the day.

"Sweetheart..." He ventured softly. "I understand that you have been assisting the human child in town. Is that correct?"

"Yes sir," she replied softly. "Is that wrong?"

He saw her mother tense as she placed her hands on her offspring's shoulders. "Yes, dear. The king doesn't want us bothering with that boy child. He's dangerous."

"B-but he's not dangerous!" The young girl squeaked in disbelief. "H-he's nice! He came from a place that it only snows some of the time, and-"

"You still can't bother with him, love." Her mother replied. Her tone was not unkind, but the look he gave her made the message very definite.

The child looked to him now with tears in her eyes. "K-King Asgore, if...If no-nobody helps him...A-Akin..."

"Is that his name?" He asked weakly, his voice aching with the fatigue that grow with each day he knew this human was alive and was giving Snowdin anguish. "Akin?"

She nodded vehemently and he sighed softly, his trembling hands carefully resting on her tiny shoulders. "Akin will be...Well taken care of, little one. I will watch over him in my castle. But in order for me to do that, I have to ask you to please leave him be tonight."

It wasn't a complete lie and he and the shopkeeper knew it, but they also knew that this child wasn't going to buy it so easily. She knew exactly what would happen if she didn't give Akin blankets or heating pads. Of course she knew; they all knew but they wouldn't admit it in front of him.

"Yes sir," the youth replied quietly with her eyes downcast.

"Thank you, little one," he said with a bit of relief leaking through. "Would you like a peppermint before I go?"

She accepted it with a simple thank you and remained silent as her mother apologized for her offspring's actions. He pardoned her gently and cast a look back at them as he exited, but the girl didn't wave back like her parent did. She obviously had nothing more to say to him, but that said everything in itself.

...

Akin's SOUL was orange, a firey embodiment of the bravery he held through his trials in Snowdin. The boy'd been uttered rejected in the small time he'd remained alive Underground, but he was never afraid. Asgore wished he had that same bravery as he laid the small body down into the coffin, but all he had was determination.

The snowkeeper's child deserved better than to live under his rule, he decided as he began painting the color of Akin's SOUL over his final resting place.


	5. Her Integrity

Not One, But Seven: Integrity 

He had not heard from his wife in multiple months, but at the current point, he'd figured he never would. She obviously hated him with everything her maternal SOUL could hold, and while he missed her dearly, the new cold sensation of determination was overriding his crippling loneliness. He had decided that ruling all of the Underground safely was a far greater obligation that to his failed marriage, and that their prosperity would fill the void imprinted so deeply within him. His plan, no matter how morally unsound, was effective, and that was all that he wanted to matter to him in the end.

Despite his not contacting his wife whatsoever, he did know she was alive. When the fourth child emerged into Snowdin, the first thing he noticed was Toriel's familiar purple shawl wrapped around her tall, thin frame. This child looked older than Chara, Tally, or Akin, but the roundness to her face led him to figure she was still very young. Her hair was long, falling down behind her knees in brown waves that were tangled and dirtied from her journey, and her eyes were a soft brown. She was wearing a soft pink leotard that didn't suit the freezing temperatures around her and thin shoes with only a tutu to cover her middle, so he figured she'd perish quickly. He certainly preferred it that way; the less he had to get his hands dirty, the easier it became to detach himself.

"That's the Queen's shawl," Gaster noted with a hint of alarm. "How did she make it out of the Ruins with that?"

"I do not know," Asgore replied somberly. "I can't imagine why Toriel would willingly let her out with the knowledge of what I would have to do."

"Perhaps the human fought her?" The scientist mused. "If she exhibited violence, I doubt the Queen would fight back."

The thought made the king's heart weigh down in his chest, but given how little the girl was shivering above the waist, he figured that his wife's fabric was providing some level of warmth. He did not notice any dust across the deep purple material either, so he merely waved his hand to silence his assistant.

"She must be alive," he replied curtly. "She must have had some other motif. Perhaps the child exhibited violence in others ways, or-"

His next thought hung in his throat, making his heart flutter and then beat with renewed energy. It was certainly a stretch, but it had been several years since Akin's death and even more since losing his children. Perhaps in her own solitude his wife had come to reach the same logic as he, and she was sending the human out as a peace offering. He had been trying so hard to reach detachment from his old life, but if Toriel was truly ready to come home…

"My King," Gaster prompted curtly. "What are you suggesting?"

He lifted his chin a little higher now, setting his shoulders back. "Let us wait for the human to perish before I conclude that thought. I am no longer in the business of keeping my hopes up, but there is still a chance our Queen will return to us."

 **…** **.**

The human girl lasted much longer than he expected. When the morning came, she exited from the inn in the same outfit she had on when he shut off the monitor for the night. She had a very troubled look on her face, but as soon as the inn keeper stepped out and starting speaking to her she relaxed considerably. They communicated only briefly, and during these brief moments Asgore couldn't help but notice the keeper looking back and forth nervously, as if she were afraid someone was watching.

Of course; all of Snowdin knew of his ruling, and they were afraid to transgress. They may not have been afraid of him in a general sense, but they were afraid of this new side of him. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but he was as well.

Before the girl parted from the hotel, she placed a large sum of gold in the lapine monster's hands. She initially tried to protest, but the king couldn't miss the flash of grateful desire on her face before she started to refuse it, and apparently neither could the child, who evidently insisted on her payment for her stay before heading on her way. As the human journeyed across the bridge, Asgore noted he both needed to install auditory capabilities in the monitors and needed to hire local monsters to ensure humans didn't make it past Snowdin unless said monsters were slain.

Though, slaying didn't seem to be part of this small human's agenda. She seemed intent on being honest and careful on her journey, always paying mind to where she stepped and whom she encountered. Granted, most monsters were hidden away after their king's early morning announcement on there being another human in the Underground, but things were irrefutably different since Akin's falling down. Some of the monsters had adopted the attitude that humans were either too kind or too stupid to pose a real threat, and others were simply too young to have any attachment to the war declared after the deaths of Asriel and Chara.

Asgore wondered now what that must be like, to be so young and so unburdened by two deaths that changed the lives of any inhabitants of the Underground from then on. He decided it must be nice to be so privileged.

The girl shed his wife's shawl once she reached Waterfall, carefully folding it and setting it on the end of the bridge. Despite the cold determination to see her demise, the king felt the small warmth of appreciation for her mindfulness of his wife's kind gift. As she continued on her way, he slowly shut off the monitor for the time being and paged Gaster. He'd get started on installing the auditory devices immediately, and hope that learning more about the child would help him learn how to off her quicker.

He also noted internally that this could make him care about her survival, but quickly felt it become engulfed by the coldness that always seemed to lurk in the back of his mind. No, he would have no problem with another death. Not anymore.

...

"Hello? Are...Are you alright?"

The girl's voice was lower than he'd anticipated, confirming she was older than her three predecessors. She was bent in front of a small monsters now, one who was obviously petrified of humans but had managed to encounter her nevertheless.

"Yes..." The small, fish-like monster's voice was soft and wavered to the point of distortion.

"You don't _seem_ alright...Don't worry, you don't have to lie," the human encouraged softly. "Is there any way I can make you more comfortable?"

"I...I do-dont..." The monster turned her face away, her long hair hiding her face and tail completely.

"Please don't go." The human's voice was suddenly just as small, just as vulnerable. "I...I've been feeling so alone since I fell down here. I was always alone when I still lived above the surface because other humans never liked me much. My mama said it was because I was too honest about their traits, both good and bad, so I thought, 'Hey, maybe the monsters will like my honesty. They've been lied to a lot, so they could use the truth'. But nobody wants to talk to me, and when I paid this innkeeper for staying there, she seemed to love it but also hate it. I...I don't know what to do. I just could really use a friend."

The small monster was silent, and Asgore sucked in a breath. Perhaps the little Waterfall inhabitant would use this girl's weakness to her advantage, and would kill her while her head was down and her eyes were closed with forming tears. The king instantly grimaced once that thought passed; he knew no resident of the Underground could be so cruel unless they had to be, and thus far he'd only given them reason to believe they wouldn't.

This monster was obviously just a lonely child as well, and knowing he'd have to separate them if they bonded filled with a warm anger that also trumped the determination. He couldn't do that to another young monster when he knew they deserved better. Not again.

"I could really use a friend," the monster child echoed finally, slowly turning to look at the human through her long hair.

"You don't seem to like being very original," the human noted, and her counterpart cringed. "But that's okay. Would you be more comfortable if I did most of the talking, and you could can just follow along?"

The non-human youth smiled softly and nodded, and it was then Asgore noticed his royal scientist frozen in the background of the image. He was still setting up microphones in Waterfall now, and had become just as entranced with this innocent interaction as her king. He couldn't blame him, and despite his orders to capture the human on sight, he wondered now if his employee would take on that burden. He didn't know much about his confidante, so he couldn't really predict his regard for human life, but he almost wished for his sake that he'd let the girl live.

"I like to dance," the human mused now, obviously unaware of the potential threat several yards away. "That's why I'm wearing this outfit, see?"

"I...sing, sometimes," the monster quipped shyly. "M...My sister said I was good, b-before she...Before she fell down."

"Fell down?" The girl tilted her head briefly, but when her new companion didn't provide an answer, she merely continued. "I bet you sing really well. Why don't you try it down so I can dance?"

As it turned out, the little monster was tone deaf, and her melody obviously didn't please the child. However, she began to twirl, the fabric around her pink leotard and the shoes she was wearing making her movements all the more enchanting. It would have been a charming sight if the king wasn't so busy trying to figure out how to naturally keep the two of them apart so he could dispose of the girl, but he saw no way to do so without frightening or traumatizing the shy little monster who seemed encouraged by her new friend's presence.

"You're really...unique," the human girl noted after the song had ended. "You should find, like...A manager. They'll help you become a real star, and then I can come and dance for you all the time. How does that sound?"

The monster child nodded and smiled shyly. "W...what is your name?"

"Maria. And yours?"

"Sh-Shyren."

The king couldn't help but jump when he noticed his scientist approaching the two of them, and he noticed something in his damaged hands gleaming. Was she going to harm the human in the front of the monster? Of course not, he tried to reason, but given his determination and due to her experimenting with it, he wondered if he'd had some herself. Perhaps he was capable of more than he subtly hoped he would be.

Before he could be spotted, however, he stepped into the shadows so the object in his hand gleamed more boldly. The girl- Maria- noticed quickly and said a quiet farewell to Shyren, saying she was going to find more friends and she wanted to follow the light out of the territory.

She did in fact follow Gaster away from her only friend, and Asgore stopped wondering why his employee was guiding her so secretly until they reached a place where he knew the ground was soft and the girl would not be suspecting of the drop off. This time, he watched the girl as she picked up the source of the light, which was shaped like a star, right before teetering off of the edge of the cliff.

...

Maria's SOUL was a deep blue, not glowing like Akin's, but still extremely bold. He decided it was appropriate because of how deeply honest she was, and how beautifully she'd handled her encounters. He'd decided to leave the 'tutu' and her shoes at the place she'd fallen to, as a message to any monsters that found them to humans weren't to stay alive Underground.

"I'm impressed," he noted to Gaster as he finished painting the SOUL's picture onto Maria's coffin. "You were able to lead her right to her death. Have you been experimenting with our new material on yourself?"

His scientist's expression was unreadable. "No, I have not. But I have been undertaking several experiments of my own that have made me...Capable of more than I was before."

"Pardon?"

Gaster gave a ghost of a smile and disappeared into the shadows at once, but the king swallowed his questions for a later time. He didn't want to ask his subordinate to kill again, so he would begin hiring more guardsmen for the Underground effective immediately. He wouldn't admit it, but Gaster indirectly leading to Maria's death only seemed to make his determination grow more prominent in himself, feeding off the guilt that he was not the only one to be blamed anymore. He wouldn't be solely responsible from this point on. Not anymore.

* * *

 **Author Note:** This chapter was longer than I'd thought it be, but I hoped you enjoyed reading it! I thought Shyren was an interesting character upon re-reading all of the people the protagonist faces in Waterfall, and wanting to incorporate her music given the Blue Souls's symbols relation to music, dancing and stars.


	6. His Perseverance

Not One, But Seven: Perseverance

He'd found in the recent years it helped his loneliness to wander around and chat with the locals as he once did. It was certainly more comforting than tending to his empty castle alone, and less unnerving than speaking to Gaster about their plans for the Underground. He'd tried asking about his 'experiments' he'd referred to after Maria's death, but the scientist seemed intent on subtly never giving anything away.

The locals were always kind, however. They were reverent to their king regardless on whether or not they agreed with his elimination of humans, and he found himself enjoying the discussions that came out of them. Perhaps it was the determination, or perhaps it had just been long enough since the last death, but he found it hard to feel much of anything when he brought up the three dead human children that'd perished long after his Chara.

It was Gaster's idea to begin openly advertising that capturing human SOULS was something that would benefit the monsters in the long run. Given the fact children were still falling down, it was obviously a human could pass through the insufferable barrier that kept all of their kind trapped below the surface. If they had one, they could penetrate the force and enter the world once more.

But Asgore wasn't content with just _one_. He wanted at least two, one for his of his dead babies. But now he had threes, and there no good explanation for why they'd need such a specific number. Besides, what if more fell down? Of course they could just die, but if the barrier was gone they could just be rescued by the humans.

The king didn't truly _desire_ for a child to die unnecessarily, but he still needed a better final objective for his subjects to believe in. It would help him satisfy the cold sense deep inside of him, and it would finally give them something to believe in. Once more, it was Gaster who suggested the number seven for the amount of human SOULS that would supposedly be needed to breech the barrier.

"Why seven?" The royal questioned.

"It's a little more than twice the amount you currently have," Gaster replied evenly. "Give them something to work for while not being in any large rush to achieve it. In decent time it's safe to assume at least four more humans will fall, and then we'll be free. It's the perfect balance if I do say so myself."

The king accepted it with no further questions. It was logical, and as they hoped, the Underground responded extremely well. This method wasn't necessarily the most morally sound; then again, none of his were as of late.

* * *

Given the kings recent decree, the Underground was buzzing with excitement when word got around of the newest human child. Asgore did not share their enthusiasm, at least not after Gaster's initial report. Perhaps he would have felt a little more resolved he could _find_ the small creature in the vastness of the Underground.

"Perhaps you should take a break," his loyal subordinate mused. "Too much stress will make your fur go gray."

The leader chuckled dryly. "If my fur were to go gray from stress, it would have gone that way long ago."

"Still," the other insisted. "You should go. I will continue monitoring and alert you if I find it."

It. What a cold way to refer to a child, but an appropriate one.

Asgore nodded once and folded his hands behind his back, exiting the castle and trying to not look as nervous as he felt. After all, there was no way to ensure this human was a child, and how powerful they were. The humans would have had ample time to prepare in the years, so perhaps they'd be taking measures to fight back. If his kind was to be attacked in the state they were in, there would be no hope for them to survive.

"Would you look at that? It's old Fluffybuns!"

The sound of his old friend's voice was enough to distract him from the deep-rooted anxiety churning inside. The turtle monster gave his friend a toothy grin, winking at him with the one eye he was still able to work.

"Please, Gerson," Asgore replied, not unkindly. "Do not call me that."

"Ah, you're right. _King_ Fluffybuns!"

This inspired a blush from the royal. He and Gerson went far back in time, back to the original war when they fought and relaxed together. Occasionally, when the humans had retreated a particularly brutal battle that left both sides staggering, the two friends would find themselves bathing in a magnificent stream just south of their main camp. They naturally stripped for these excursions, and it apparently never occurred to the non-elite that his friend would have his fluffy fur _everywhere_ , even on his backside. He'd dubbed him 'Fluffybuns' from that point on, and the name had stuck between the two.

"Gerson, please," the other insisted.

"Aw, I'm just messin' with ya," the slightly older chuckled. "What brings you out of your castle?"

"Gaster suggested a take a walk to clear my mind," the slightly younger replied gravelly. "The new human could be dangerous. You and I know that better than most."

"Tricky bunch they can be," the other mused before growing more serious. "So I hear you've gone back on our prior agreement, eh, Asgore?"

The taller frowned. "I understand if you're upset, my friend, and I am sorry if you are. But this is necessary for reasons I can't fully explain here. Perhaps you could come in for a cup of tea later? I will explain things to you then."

"Nah, you're the king," the older responded, his serious expression becoming unreadable. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."

"But I would like to, if it would comfort you for me to do so." The king felt that horrible anxiety combining with the numbness in his heart; he couldn't lose an ally, especially not one that meant as much as Gerson.

His friend merely flashed another one of his famous grins. "Don't cha worry about it, Fluffybuns. You know what's best for us."

Asgore merely offered a weary smile full of apprehension and relief. "I...I suppose. Thank you."

* * *

He'd crossed about half of the Underground and was walking back when he finally found a sign of the human. In the damp grass there was a dark stain of red, the red of human blood. He swallowed heavy as he stepped around it, slowly walking toward the next patch not far from the first. The human was wounded and yet moving quickly, and though he hadn't found any dust in his travels, he still had reason to be at unease.

He didn't have to go far. The human was indeed a child, a boy with a larger frame. He was covered in sweat and was laying on his back, his breath coming out in quick puffs. He hadn't seemed to noticed the king's presence, but there was no mistaking his own. As he stared at the youth, he noticed the blood was seemed to be coming from his right arm and side. One of his royal guardsmen must have attacked, and for a boy in his condition to be able to escape, that could only mean that his opponent was either hurt as well or dead.

"I...If yo-you're gonna kill me," the boy suddenly whimpered in a voice that cracked with puberty. "Please, just...Just do it."

This statement only made the older falter further. The child was extremely hurt, and if it was another monster or a indirect cause, he would have been able to end it naturally. But he was here now, standing in front of a dying youth, and he was obligated to finish the job. Assuming the youth was a murderer, he couldn't let him heal and continue near the rest of his kind.

"You're hurt," the elder finally noted. "Let me see your wound."

As it turned out, the wound wasn't very deep but was long. He appeared his guardsmen had struck with his sword, cutting the child's arm and side but not killing him. This boy obviously had either a lot of endurance and the willingness to persist despite the dire circumstances. The royal also noted that there were torn pieces of notebook paper near the wound, covered in blood in spots that proved he was trying to stop the blood flow with the only thing he had.

"Who harmed you, young one?" Asgore asked wearily.

"A...A guard looking monster," the little male panted. "He said he was killing...In the name of King Asgore, and...And all of monster kind..."

A pang broke through the numbness in the King's chest. This boy knew why he was dying while not having idea what he'd done so wrong. He was an innocent caught up in everything; then again, so was his son, and so were countless monsters slain in the war. This had to happen.

"I...I didn't hurt him, sir," the little one rasped. "He...He turned to dust when the guard he was with...Stabbed him. He...He told me to run, and d-don't stop, so...So I did."

Betrayal was inevitable in situations like this. Asgore wasn't sure who he was proud of in the light of this information.

"I see. Just relax now," the older urged quietly. His eyes drifted to the young one's notebook. "What have you been writing?"

The boy's pale brown eyes peered at him from under his glasses. "I was taking notes for school...Teacher said the Underground was d-different and hard to explain...So I came down to find out, and everyone ha-hates me. Th...They called me a freak, just like the kids at school. They said I was a sad reminder of humanity being gross."

The child was openly weeping now, his good arm laid over his chubby stomach to hold his wound. Another pang surged through the royal's chest as he watched the pathetic human suffer so immensely; he'd come to far for naught. His SOUL slowly appeared in front of him, glowing a lovely purple that matched his wife's old shawl. The time to end this was now.

"I am sorry they hurt you," Asgore replied softly, slowly pulling his weapon from the holster on his back. "But you will be at peace soon."

His weapon cut the SOUL quickly, slicing it in half and falling to the ground without a sound. The boy's eyes widened a bit before growing dim, and the straggled cries stopped too abruptly. The purple glow continued to shine against the dark blood half had fallen into, and the king felt the lump in his throat as he began to openly weep himself.

* * *

Gerson and Gaster were the only ones who noticed how disturbed their leader was by the deed he'd done. The rest of the monsters seemed proud of him, congratulating him or watching in awe as he carried the child's lifeless body, dimly glowing SOUL, and dirty items toward the castle.

"Hey," Gerson said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. "Why don't I take some of that off your hands? You should rest."

"You can sell them if you'd like," the king muttered as his old ally took the glasses and notebook off of the corpse. "I have no use of them."

"Will do. Take care of yourself."

At the castle, Asgore put away the body in a casket he'd made not long after the death of Maria. He carefully placed the SOUL in one piece, carefully letting it suspend itself in the containers he'd been keeping the others in.

"You were brave today, sire," Gaster noted from the doorway. "I would suggest you don't do it again in the near future if another falls, however. It would not affect you well."

"The boy seemed to like studying. Words," the king replied hollowly. "I have many poems by a human named Oscar Wilde. I think I will call him Oscar."

"It's ill advised you name these children, sir," the scientist responded warily. "It is in names you form attachments, and if we are truly to collect seven SOULS-"

Asgore didn't respond as he began painting the picture on the front of the casket. Attachment or not, it was irrefutable what he was capable of now. No matter how much he felt for these small creatures, he was going to kill the next three. He was determined.


	7. Her Kindness

Not One, But Seven: Kindness 

He knew his royal scientist would not live forever. Especially after his hard work on creating what he called the CORE, Asgore had begun to get an idea of how old he was. Of course neither of them were young at this point, but Gaster was obviously much older than he'd originally guessed. He walked like a ghost in his final weeks, his eye sockets growing darker and his form becoming extremely distorted.

"Are you alright?" He asked one day as his scientist passed by, likely to go continue with his work and 'experiments'. "You seem exhausted. I would not blame you if you took a little break."

His subordinate merely gave him a weary smile. "I'm afraid I can't, sire. There is much work to be done. Yes, much work indeed..."

He wandered off while still mumbling to himself, leaving Asgore completely baffled and concerned. When the news came that he'd disappeared, he had a good feeling he'd 'fallen down' somewhere and did not want to be found. He was always an extremely mysterious person, and it seemed only appropriate to his former boss that nobody would ever quite know what happened to him.

Despite the appropriateness in his scientist's death, it still deeply bothered the king. He was going to need another royal scientist, especially if he was continue his experiments with determination and carry out his plan for the SOULs, but he couldn't bear to replace him right away. In the past few decades, W.D Gaster was the closest thing he'd had to family. He missed him dearly, and even closed up his home temporarily from all in order to mourn in solitude.

In this mourning period, he often found himself wandering down to the basement where he kept the four SOULs. They floated serenely in their containers, their colors pulsing brightly against the transparent glass. Gaster had already made three other containers for the humans to come, which now sat vacantly near the full ones. The royal felt compelled to gently clean the residue off of them now; there was no telling how long it would be before one would be utilized. Even still, surely the humans we were beginning to realize what was happening to their kind when they fell.

"You were all good children," he commented to the SOULs on the last day before he reopened his home. "I did not want any of you to get hurt. However, it had to be done."

The SOULs, of course, did not speak back. However, the vacant silence he received was enough to compel him to try and explain himself further.

"Tally, you were so patient. That served you well up until the end. Perhaps I should learn how to have more of what you had in the future, especially with the tedious business I'm in," he spoke to the cyan SOUL. "Akin, I have always admired how brave you were. If not for the conditions you found yourself in, you likely could have crossed the barrier with no problem."

Tears began forming in his eyes as he placed his paws over the first two containers, softly bringing them to his chest. Their contained power hummed over his body quietly now, the strength increasing the closer he brought them toward his own culmination of being. He supposed at the point he could always try absorbing what he had now and try to cross the barrier, and if it wasn't enough, he could just slay as many as he needed until he could free his species. After all, he already had Oscar's blood on his hands. Why should he wait?

"Marie, you were quite lovely," he said after several minutes of silent contemplation. "Your honesty is something I should strive for. Unlike you, I have to lie to my species to try and give them something to believe in. And Oscar...Oscar, I know you meant no harm in the end. You couldn't help what you were, but you continued to push forth as if you could. Just like the others, your death was respectable."

He acknowledged he couldn't jeopardize his current plan as he gently hugged all the containers; it would mean admitting to his false advertising, and it would mean the end of the fragile hope he'd been gardening up until now. He couldn't lose his species's trust at this point. He figured that surely, surely three more humans would fall in no time, and it wouldn't matter what he did or didn't do.

The next day, he put out his announcement for needing a new royal scientist. It hurt to let him go, but then again, it hurt to kill the children and Asgore had done it all the same. Death was now a normal part of his life, and as long as he fully succumbed to the coldness, it wouldn't matter what the cost of that was.

* * *

It did surprise him slightly to see how far the newest human got on their journey, but he was also reminded at the incredible spirit of the human species. He figured each one would get a bit closer to his home, which inevitably meant he'd likely have to fight one in his own place of dwelling. As he observed the little girl carefully entering Hotland, he figured the thought of spilling blood in his garden should likely bother him more than it did.

She was younger than Oscar or Marie, but not by much. Her hair was tied back in a bun on the top of her head, and a stained apron was pulled around her small waist. She was also carrying a pan in her right hand, one that didn't seem in the least bit plastic or fake. The presence of a potential weapon set the royal on edge; none of the other children were equipped for battle, which could only mean the humans _were_ learning.

A bag was strapped to her back as well, and as he observed her, he wondered what she could possibly be carrying. Perhaps she was an adventurer like Oscar or Akin, and she was collecting items to return to the Surface with. He sighed at such a optimistic possibility before lowering the monitor and turning to his newest scientist, a young reptilian monster named Alphys.

"I will be back soon," he stated as evenly as possible. "Watch over things, will you?"

"A...Are you going after the human?" She asked with a tremor, which struck him as odd. She always seemed so calm and collected until he spoke to her directly.

"Yes," he admitted. "They could cause serious problems to us here. Besides, their SOUL is vital to breaking the barrier. This is the best for everyone."

"I understand," she replied meekly. "B-but...If that is the case, you might like to be able to monitor their progress as you're travelling toward them. I...I developed a mobile version of your monitor f-for this instance, and was wo...wondering if you'd like to use it?"

The gesture made him smile immediately. She'd only been working for him for a couple of weeks, and already she'd invented something to make his endeavors more practical and easy. She would make a fine replacement to Gaster.

"Thank you, I would love too," he agreed while extending a paw. "Thank you, Alphys."

She seemed to relax at his approval, her eyes lighting up as she went to fetch her creation. Several minutes later, he was walking toward Hotland and to the CORE that her predecessor had left behind. He wondered as he turned on his mobile monitor if the girl would be able to figure out the device if she made it so far, and if he'd even get to her before one of his Royal Guardsmen or Sentries did. After all, all of the monsters had only seemed more renewed by Oscar's passing to vanquish any more people to cross their paths. It was a morbid collective hope, but the king had to silently admit it eased his personal conscience for all the wrong reasons.

* * *

Similarly to Marie, this girl did not have a problem talking to the local monsters despite the weapon she brandished. She spoke with a foreign accent, and all of her actions seemed gentle despite the constant eager glint in her brown eyes. In the time it'd taken him to travel across the CORE (and get lost several times therein), he'd figured out she was carrying several disposable containers and utensils in her bag. She seemed to be quite skilled in culinary, and was feeding anyone who wouldn't shoo her away or flee.

"Hey King Asgore!" A young monster suddenly quipped from behind him. "You going after that human?!"

"Yes, I am," he replied in the same tone he used with Alphys. "I'm afraid I'll be doing this quest alone, young one. I also must hurry. If you fancy, we could sit down and have a nice cup of tea tomorrow or so?"

"Oh, I'm alright," the child replied idly. "But I was just wonderin' why you're going out now. A Royal Guardsman said he was goin' just a little bit ago, so I think 'e's got it."

Of course; his court was already on fulfilling their respective duties before he even had to worry about handling the issue himself. Nevertheless, he assured the child he knew what he was doing and continued forth. He couldn't quite discern why he continued when the SOUL would soon be delivered to him anyway, but he felt extremely compelled to see this human through the best he could. For the time being, he dismissed these emotions as a way of compensating for not truly being an active part in the previous four deaths.

When he finally arrived to the location of the youth, he did indeed find a battle well underway. A royal guard was shooting star-shaped bullets at the girl, who was brandishing her frying pan in order to deflect the hits. Nevertheless, she was obviously running low on energy, and her HP was falling more and more with each attack. This would not last much longer.

As Asgore slowly looked around their surroundings, he noticed another guard nearly identical to the one attacking watching from a distance. Neither the human nor the fellow guard had seemed to notice the third's presence, but it was very obvious to the leader he _really_ noticed he fellow court member. He was obviously extremely nervous about entering the fight despite it being his job, but this did not anger their boss. It was endearing, and he would not impose on the innocence in face of a grave battle.

"Agh!" The girl cried out, pulling his attention to the small human on her back with her wide eyes on her attacker. "Pl-please!"

"Like, I'm sorry," the guard replied tightly. "But we have strict orders to destroy any human that dares fall Underground. It totally has to be this way."

To all of their surprise, the girl offered him a small smile instead of continuing to cower from him. "I...I suppose I understand. I heard all of the rumors that falling down here was dangerous, but I didn't want to believe they were true. I thought that surely monsters could be compassionate if compassion was shown to them, but now I understanding it's never been a question of how we treat each other. It's all about the inevitable."

Despite the dark words the child spoke, she continued to smile a genuine smile at her assumed enemy. The guardsman hesitated now, and his superior could not blame him. After all, killing an innocent creature was not meant to be easy work, and having violence challenged with something softer only made one's resolve weaken.

"02!" The guard that had been hiding subtly suddenly yelped. "L-like, we need to do this together!"

"Together?" The domineering guard asked as he turned to face his companion. "Do you think that would work?"

"Like, totally!" The other quipped eagerly, rushing to his side and casting a brief glance in their king's direction. He must have seen him and been worried about his fellow guard failing in front of him.

The two made quick work of the compliant young one with their team attack, and soon she was nothing more than a glowing green SOUL and a lifeless heap. Her pan was more burned now and was laying to the side, and her apron clung to her body with the blood. The guards immediately cheered and chest-bumped each other eagerly, but it was obvious to their leader they were beginning to realize the gravity of what they'd done as they began recounting it.

"Like...She's dead and stuff," the one called 02 said slowly.

"Yeah...Bummer," the other commented softly. "She was totally cool with it, though. She kind of wanted it to be this way."

"I guess...But bro, what if she didn't?"

The royal took this moment to walk over to his two subordinates and smile patiently. "Hello, you two. I watched you both do fine work of capturing and slaying our enemy. You will be rewarded handsomely for this."

"King Asgore!" 02 yipped in surprise, lowering his head out of respect. "It's totally an honor, sir. Thank you for being here."

"It was my pleasure," he responded with another smile. "I will take her SOUL off of your hands now."

"Of course! 01, you should hand it to him," the young guard urged at once.

"No, it's totally your honor. I just helped finish it off," 01 replied, and Asgore was quite sure he was blushing underneath his helmet.

"Perhaps you could both hand it to me?" He suggested. "You two really ought to work together more often. You're exceptionally powerful together."

He sensed they both grinned as they agreed and carried out this task, and as he walked away with the SOUL in its container he heard them re-start their eager chatter about their deed. He once more supposed it was a nice life, one where they believed everything they did was for a greater, righteous agenda and they should have no qualms about slaying a species that wasn't their own. In a way he felt a tug of pride of providing the means for such allusions, but the overwhelming guilt for the less savory parts quickly quenched that.

"I think I will call you Amity," he commented quietly as he headed for New Home.

* * *

"W-welcome back, sir," Alphys said hesitantly as he solemnly re-entered. "D...Did everything go alright? Did m-my monitor help?"

"Absolutely," he reassured with a tone brighter than how he felt. "Thank you very much for providing it. I will now go put this SOUL with the others and lay this child to rest."

"S...She's very small, sir," his new scientist spoke in a voice so quiet he almost didn't catch it.

"Yes, she is," he agreed gravelly. "If you wouldn't mind, I really have no use for this pan or this dirty apron. Would you please disperse them elsewhere? I...I would rather not look at them."

"Y-yes, of course!" She quickly complied and hurried out, and once again the guilt washed over him. He shouldn't be making such a young monster carry out such a grim disposal.

He carefully painted the green SOUL on the girl's casket after he laid her in, his gaze eventually locking on the other SOULs already sitting there. He'd talked to them in the weeks before and signaled his regret to them, but their imminent silence only made his feelings of remorse tighter. He doubted these children would forgive him for everything he'd done, and he wouldn't really expect them to. Nevertheless, he realized then he desperately needed reassurance from somebody, and while Alphys was nice, she wasn't Gaster.

"I am truly sorry," he said in a broken voice as he finally let raw sobs take over him. "You do not h-have to forgive me, bu...But please understand! This is the only way! I am sorry...I am so sorry..."

* * *

 **Author Note:** And so concludes the seventh chapter. Asgore has been retaining his determination for a long time now, and without the last person who truly cared about it, he is no longer able to keep up the facade. Of course this does not change what he does next and continues to do at the start of the game, but I thought it was important to show once more how deeply this affects his true, raw self.

I'd also like to give a big shout out to all my long-time and a new readers and reviewers! Please, do continue to review this story, as it encourages me to make new updates faster! ^^ Stay determined, my loves!


	8. His Justice

Not One, But Seven: Justice 

To many monsters, the Great War against humans was an event that took place long before most of them were even thought of. Their enemy status with the humans was real to most of them and almost all of them had been affected by it, even if only slightly, but the majority still did not live in a constant state of being burdened by what they may eventually do on behalf of their kind. These were the young monsters brought up to believe that humans were more powerful but morally lesser than themselves, and that to kill them would be an excellent deed done for their freedom. After all, it would only take two more SOULs.

Asgore often wondered if the nightmares he'd grown accustomed to ever visited those who'd helped him over the past century. He'd wistfully longed to be like these monsters in the past, but the more he thought of them, the more he wondered if they'd actually had the worst end of their situation all along. They'd only killed one child, but unlike himself, they would never have to do it again if they refused to do so. They'd only have the blood of a sole creature of their hands, and nothing could erase or dwindle the memory. They couldn't escape into their endless void of guilt because only one thing ultimately held them captive to regret.

When he finally voiced these concerns to Alphys, he wasn't necessarily _expecting_ her to build a robot with genocidal thoughts toward the human race, but he found its presence eased his anxiety for the future. Upon making the Underground aware of 'Mettaton', he could alleviate the weighing burden that the general public would be responsible for outright murdering the last two humans alone. This robot could aide them in confrontation and make quick work of what may remain; it was the perfect addition to the Royal Guard.

"Th-there's just one problem, sir," Alphys voiced meekly as he praised her for her invention.

He frowned a bit initially, but upon seeing her panicked expression, he quickly revitalized his patient smile. "And what is that?"

"T-the...The body cannot operate on it's own without a host," she explained warily. "I mean...I c-could always control it manually, bu-but the cost and the risk factors of it malfunctioning w-would increase drastically. Not to me-mention that modifications would become n-nearly impossible to make on short notice..."

"I understand," he replied in a grave tone. "That...That will be quite alright. But how will this machine house a monster when it is so small and intricate?"

"Well, I've been talking to a little ghost...Th-they're a human fan, but I'm sure they could be persuaded with the right incentive?" She offered with a hesitant look to her leader.

The thought of involving yet another innocent monster in his twisted agenda made his stomach churn, but the presence of this human-slaughtering machine's capabilities was invaluable. It would make things better for everyone sans himself and anyone who explicitly helped who felt guilt. He decided he'd just have to bear this sin in the interest of the greater monster species; it didn't make much of a difference what he did at this point for his personal being.

"Absolutely," he finally replied. "I would like to meet this ghost soon, Alphys. Whatever incentive they need will be provided."

* * *

As it turned out, the incentive was exposure. This little ghost had evidently long dreamed of achieving star status, so becoming a hero to their kind was exactly the kind of opportunity they'd be waiting for. Alphys made efficient time bonding their SOUL with the robotic shell, and soon they- he- was rolling around and chattering with new confidence.

This accomplishment was not, of course, without its flaws. Mettaton was very much still establishing his 'land stand', and often got immensely frustrated when he attempted to float or obtained real injury that could potentially end his life. Alphys was doing her best to remedy his anxieties and frustrations, so the king primarily tried to stay out of their way.

It was only when the seventh human fell down that he became more urgent with the progress they were making. Just by looking at this human he could tell they weren't like the rest; he walked briskly, his chin held high and a gun in his hand. A _real_ gun, one that stayed strapped to the boy's side. He also wore a strange hat, one that covered up his dark red hair and somehow made him look all the more intimidating.

"This human is dangerous, Alphys," he noted anxiously as he observed this child make his way through the Underground. "You must get Mettaton to act swiftly."

"I-I'm trying, sir," she replied meekly. "But he's very nervous now that the time has come. H...he doesn't know if this is what he truly wants to do."

The hesitant hope that had been gradually growing in the royal's gut popped at once and he couldn't help but frown deeply. "Regardless, this human must be vanquished before they can hurt or kill anyone."

"I-I...I understand," the reptilian monster stuttered anxiously. "But I'm afraid for anyone, i-including yourself- to get near someone that powerful. D...Didn't you say none of the other humans put up a real fight against anyone?"

He exhaled heavily and nodded somberly. "I see your point, but that kind of power cannot be allowed to roam freely. I appreciate your concern, my friend. But I will protect you all and obtain his SOUL, even it costs me my own life."

His scientist's body was now visibly trembling, but that all too familiar coldness in his gut had transformed into something warmer, something far more powerful. If Mettaton wasn't going to work out for the greater good, then he would proceed as he had. There would have to be some differences, however.

Amity's irrefutable kindness had deeply shaken him, and he recognized that he could not kill the last two humans as if they did not matter. He couldn't allow powers like this boy's to roam freely, but killing them didn't have to be as cold, detached and gruesome as it had been. His showing his true nature to this boy and whoever fell next would be a way of compensating for what had been done to the last five humans.

He didn't know what it would do to him emotionally or physically, and he wasn't positive this would ensure his survival. But he was determined that this was the only way to serve justice for both humans and monsters. In the end, he decided he ultimately didn't mind laying down his life if it meant his kind could be free sometime soon after.

"I...I'm coming," a robotic voice spoke from the entrance of the throne room. "I will not let you down, Your Highness."

"Thank you, Mettaton, but I will handle this if you are unable or unwilling," he replied calmly, a small small venturing onto his face. "It is time I begin facing my mistakes with someone other than lies."

"S-sir?" Alphys questioned.

He merely shook his head and proceeded out of his throne room, weapon tucked securely against him as he began making his way toward Hotland. It occurred to him that the small aquatic monster he'd met a number of years ago was probably going to attempt this human in Waterfall, and the thought of her sacrificing herself over this powerful child when she was still so terribly young sent another wave of regret through his own SOUL. She was the captain of the Royal Guard, of course, but she hardly would have the means against someone like this.

When she picked up her phone, he couldn't help but sigh in relief. "Undyne?"

"Hey, King Asgore!" She quipped in her usual aggressive tone. "You ready to see me bring this human's SOUL to you on a silver platter? I will END THEM."

"Yes, I'm quite sure you will," he answered slowly. "But...Please, Undyne, if you feel you must fight them, go easy on them. There is no reason to be overly violent toward a young creature."

"They're a freakin' human! There's all kinds of reasons!" She spit angrily before sighing. "But hey! I guess I understand! Bet you wanna finish them off yourself, huh?! Nobody gets all the glory with a sick bastard like a human!"

"I...Yes," he agreed with a small sigh of relief. "If that is how you'd like to put it. Be careful."

"I'm ALWAYS careful."

With a click she was gone, but their brief exchange was almost enough to ease the ebbing concern inside him. Surely if he could trust himself to do the right thing, he could trust her, too.

* * *

"King Asgore."

The boy stood directly before him with his gun gripped in his small hand tightly, a stoic look on his face. He had no dust sticking to his clothes, but there was a mysterious black liquid sticking to the front of his vest and neck. The king hadn't believed the human wouldn't speak first, but the intensity was still a little off-putting.

"Greetings, human," he replied as steadily as he could. "What brings you to the Underground?"

"I heard you like murdering my species," he replied flatly. "That's wrong."

"You must not understand my rationale for doing so," the older offered. "In order to cross the barrier, we must collect seven human SOULs and combine them with a monster's SOUL. It will be how we all obtain freedom and unity."

"But you don't want us coming down here and murdering your kind for no good reason. Why would you think we'd appreciate you doing the same thing to us when we fall down here?" The small human demanded at once.

"None of you have business being down here in the first place." The royal was trying to remain patient and kind, but the child's bitter accusations were making him both extremely uncomfortable and unconsciously angry. "If we were meant to live in harmony, you all would have freed us yourself."

Now the youth seemed to falter temporarily in judgement, but the stoic expression quickly concealed any further emotion. "You've made it impossible to do that, King Asgore. You've done far too much damage by slaughtering innocent children. Now, you will pay."

He drew his gun now and the leader quickly brandished his own weapon. When the fighting began, he noticed that this human seemed to favor fighting before he'd act or even try to heal himself. He would hardly survive the counterattacks before consuming one of his items, but even then he'd only consume a portion and save the rest.

"You just don't give up, do you, human?" A voice sounded about halfway through, and suddenly Mettaton was there in all of his metallic glory.

"Mettaton! Please, leave now!" The elder pleaded, but his ally was already throwing his first round of bombs.

The human was soon dwindling his supplies quicker than ever, but he was still very keen on finding the patterns in his enemy's attacks. Mettaton continued to taunt him to throw off his concentration, but soon the other was gaining the upper hand on the battle. Even after the container was empty and he was out of ammo, he used the gun itself to continue his assault and dodging.

"You will not defeat me!" Mettaton hissed as he was knocked off of his stand, his body full of holes and covered in marks. "You won't succeed in this sick plan of yours!"

" _My_ sick plan?" The boy responded with his expression turning into a scowl. "Take a look at what you really fight for and then reconsider that statement."

The young man then did something that neither monster was expecting. He lifted his hand over his MERCY option, pressing it calmly and walking past his injured but living enemy. Though he seemed to have little to no more supplies or options, he raised his vacant gun toward the king.

"I will not kill anybody, unlike yourself," he panted in a low, even voice. "But I will never stop fighting for is right. I don't care how long it takes."

Asgore offered a grim smile himself now, sighing softly as he relifted his weapon. "Mettaton will need many repairs to get back to the state he was at, and I am not in great condition myself. But I simply cannot allow you to reach the castle and do anything to end my ongoing plan. You were very brave, human. But this is goodbye."

Of course the masculine human didn't try to hit him back a couple of times, but he was soon on his knees with his hat covering his eyes. At that point he slowly moved his hand from the FIGHT option and pressed MERCY, but this was no longer about the fight. It was about what the king _had_ to believe was the greater good for anyone involved, past or future.

With a SOUL both weighed down with guilt and lightened by determination, he pierced through the MERCY option and the child's chest.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Mettaton refused to do any more explicit human combat after he finally recovered from his injuries. He insisted he was 'always more built for the stage anyway', and convinced Alphys to assemble recording devices for him to begin becoming 'the idol of the Underground'. Much to everyone's collective relief, he was going over rather well with the public, so it was almost relieving when he finally moved to Hotland and ceased communication with New Home.

Undyne's reaction to the boy was quite the opposite. She'd evidently lost one of her eyes in her battle with him, and now sported an eye patch with undeniable pride. She was more hellbent than ever to kill the last human they'd need, but after what they'd all been subjected to, Asgore would no longer try to calm her wild, angry spirit.

"Thank you for your service, Undyne," he commended gently after she finished describing exactly how she'd tear the last human 'limb from limb'. "Would you like to see his SOUL by any chance?"

She nodded firmly and scowled when she saw it, a brightly glowing yellow heart that bobbed calmly in its container. "Oswald, you smug little bastard. You better _know_ you failed. You made me look like a fool, but the best of your kind better tremble when they hear my name!"

"Oswald, you say?" He asked carefully. "He told you his name?"

"Yeah, but it's not like he deserves to be called that! I'll come up with a more fitting name when I'm too angry!" She practically snarled before turning to his scientist with a wild grin. "Hey, Alphys! You wanna build me more training dummies to practice on?"

"Sure," the smaller replied shyly, and the king couldn't help but smile a bit as they exited. They made a fine pair.

It was hard for the royal to believe they'd only need one more SOUL to finally cross over the barrier, and the thought made him incredibly happy and sad. Maybe once all of this was over, his wife would finally agree to see him again. Maybe they'd be able to start a new, better life on the Surface just as much as the rest of their kind. Without his countless sins weighing on their freedom, maybe things could be similar to how they once were.

Perhaps not. At the very least, at least the murdering would be over and the SOULs could be laid to rest with his children. With that thought in mind, he was determined to still believe that no matter what happened, things could get better for even the worst kind of monster like himself.


	9. Their Determination

Not One, But Seven: Determination 

**_Their Genocide_ **

When he rose later than usual, Asgore had the unshakable sense that there was something bound to be different about his day. It hadn't been too long since Oswald's death, so surely another child had not fallen in such a quick time span. Alphys spent the majority of her time in Hotland with her lab and various experiments, so without her to immediately alert him, it would require him manually firing up the monitors that, unlike himself, got rusty and slow after more than two decades.

Instead, he attempted to make a cinnamon-butterscotch pie and crumpled up the failed recipe. As he often did, he'd used too much cinnamon and the texture was too soupy, but it was one of his better attempts. Perhaps he'd have a decent day after all.

Before he went downstairs to enter his garden, he made a small detour to the chamber where the SOULs were still located. His own culmination of being seemed to be screaming for him to go there; then again, it'd been doing that a lot since the last death, and now was one of the times he was submitting to it.

Even the SOULS were undeniably acting very strangely. They were bouncing up against their glass containers, something they'd certainly never done before now. Their colors were pulsating brightly, almost blindingly as the king gazed at them all at once. He frowned in concern as he carefully sat before them, placing his mighty paws over the small jars in an attempt to settle them down.

"It is alright," he said in an uncertain voice. "I do not know what is distressing you so much, but our ordeals will be over soon enough."

They continued to pulsate rapidly, only growing in urgency enough to vibrate what held them prisoner as he held them. Slowly, just as he once did to his old children, he brought them to his chest and sat back fully in order to cradle them.

"Perhaps you are just afraid to finally be absorbed," he mused lowly, his voice wavering with uncertainly and his own fear for the little lives he cradled now. "Well...I am too. But we must...We must be patient with the process. We must be brave for the future, and honest to our hesitance when we're frightened. We have to persevere past our anger and regrets, and be kind. We will deliver justice for the monsters and humans at long last, for when I have broken the barrier, I will allow myself to be slain so you all can go wherever you please. I ...I _promise_ that you will all be free."

By the end of his small speech, they'd calmed down considerately in his grip. He carefully set them back on their stands and smiled to them, unsure if they could see him at all but wanting to at least try.

"It won't be long now, little ones," he whispered before making his way to his garden.

 **...**

A few hours after his conversation with the six SOULS, a new flower popped up in his garden. Unlike the rest, however, he had a face and was crying hysterically. He'd certainly seen monsters of all varieties, so his existence did not concern him as much as his evident terror.

"P-please!" The flower cried out. "K-King Asgore, you have to listen to me...S-someone is coming, and they're _really_ bad. They want to kill you, and they've already killed so many people...You have to be ready! You h-have to stop them, I-"

"Now now," he said in the most soothing voice he could muster, the same one he used for children and the sick. "There's no reason to be so shaken up. I will handle any conflicts that arise. Now, please slow down and start over. What is your name?"

"There's no _time,_ you have to act now!" The small creature pleaded before his eyes went wide, his gaze behind the king's shoulder.

At once he was gone, and the baffled royal was left to frown and softly rub the patch of the ground they'd left into. "Hmm, I don't believe I've ever seen a flower cry before."

He didn't recognize the type of monsters now in his garden. They were carrying a knife and white dust nearly covered their entire wardrobe, but he could make out a blue and purple-striped jumper and black tights underneath. The expression in their eyes was chillingly vacant and the smile they had on their face was off putting, but Asgore had faced much harsher realities than a tiny monster. They surely couldn't be more than a few decades old.

When he was struck after trying to appease to the young creature, it wasn't from them. He realized as he knelt down in pain that it must have been the crying flower, the one that was trying to warn him about this creature. What a trusting king he'd become, so kind to everyone and never thinking once of his own would commit regicide. After all he'd done, he supposed he deserved it.

So this was what death was like. The small monster before him gazed on with a small smile on their face as he felt another strike on his front, several white bullets piercing straight to his SOUL. He was aware of himself as his body disintegrated, leaving all that was left of him to tremble with futile effort to stay together. He thought wistfully of his lost children, his hidden wife, of the six lives he'd been responsible for taking. He'd never accomplished his goal of getting all seven and freeing monster kind, but perhaps someone could continue where he left off now.

He could smell butterscotch-cinnamon pie as he shattered.

* * *

 _ **Their Pacifism**_

It was a beautiful day outside. He was finishing up in the garden as flowers of all colors and varieties bloomed around him, and he could hear singing in the distance. He couldn't remember for certain, but he believed Sans called them 'berbs'.

The school bell chimed from far above and he smiled a bit. Toriel had mentioned she had a special project for the children to prepare for- something about a snail lab and getting Alphys's assistance- so he would be responsible for taking Frisk and Monster Kid to his home until she finished up. He cast a glance to a Papyrus-head shrubbery he'd finished earlier the day and rolled his eyes a little; those skeletons certainly were something, but their shenanigans made all of the school children very happy, so he fulfilled their requests as best he could.

"Greetings, young Frisk!" He announced heartily as the tiny human raced toward him, a large grin on their face as they thrust a paper toward him. "An A on your Science Fair project, eh? Great job!"

'Sans helped me,' Frisk signed excitedly. "He says we'll blow them out of the water!'

"I'm sure you will!" He agreed as he smoothed back their hair. "Are you ready to head home? I have a cinnamon loaf of bread for you and your little friend."

Monster Kid came bounding up to them, grinning wildly as he heard the news. "Cinnamon loaf? Aw, cool! Hey, King Asgore, did you know Undyne can bench press _seven kids_?"

Seven. Externally he smiled and laughed, saying something about how he wasn't surprised, but internally he felt his SOUL ache anew. Frisk's intense pacifism and kindness was what led to the monsters finally being freed, and even though he knew the other SOULS were necessary for the barrier to be shattered, he wondered if things could have been different if he'd been more like their ambassador. Perhaps the children could have survived and assisted them in that way; Alphys or Gaster could have found a way to remove their SOULS without killing them, or something...

A group of children caught his eye as he gazed toward the horizon. They were varying in ages and height, and there was nothing overly notable about them aside from the fact there were six of them. He tried to tear his gaze away to avoid coming off as disturbing, but he was entranced by them for the strangest reason. Perhaps Frisk was right in advising him to see a mental health doctor; this was far from logical but he seemed to have no control over it.

As they passed him, a boy with a cowboy hat tipped his brim toward him and he had to catch his breath as he slowly waved back. It was impossible, it was just a vision. The children were dead, he'd watched them die. Even if they found a host...No, that was too hopeful. Life did not work in such abstract and far-fetched ways.

'A-S-G-O-R-E?' Frisk signed worriedly, their brown eyes shining in the afternoon sunlight. 'What's wrong?'

"Young children," he said carefully. "Who is that lot that just passed us?"

"Our classmates!" Monster Kid chirped eagerly. "They seem pretty cool. Brutus can be kind of a bully though, and I don't think Vivian really likes us being in the same classroom, but they don't bother us."

'Have you meet them before?" Frisk questioned.

After a moment or two more of silence, he shook his head; he really was just imagining things. "I was simply curious. I hadn't seen them before now. Come now, before our treat gets cold."

Both children cheered, the former king's moment of strife forgotten as they raced ahead to sidewalk before them. The group was gone now, and his children would be waiting for him. A pang of sadness vibrated through him as he glanced back to the open window of the classroom his estranged wife sat in, hard at work on her project. Things would never be the same for them, but everyone was happier this way, even himself to an extent.

It was indeed a beautiful day outside. Perhaps the six lost humans had found their peace; he had to believe that much. Toriel was certainly learning to live a normal and happy life, and if she could after all the years, he supposed he could too. He was determined.

 _~Fin~_

* * *

 **Author Note:** And so we reach the end of this story! We're just about a month shy of it being the year anniversary of it being published to, so I suppose it's about time for it to come to close, but as Shakesphere said, parting is such sweet sorry.

I'm not sure this is a well known fact, so I'd like to mention this is the first multi-chapter story I've begun and finished on this site in quite some time. I'm beyond proud of what it's evolved into over the monsters, and I'd like to say a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story in that time. You all mean the world to me, and you fill me with determination!

Please, feel free to check out and support my other Undertale stories, _Septenary_ and _They All Leave_ , because I'm far from done writing for this fandom and for my six little lost soul OCs. Until next time, my dears, stay determined! :)


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